“We recorded dismal sales last year, perhaps the worst performance ever,” he said. “But sales last month [March] has surpassed 10,000 units. If we keep the momentum going, we should be able to reach 130,000 units this year.”

He added that Proton has sold some 30,000 cars in the first quarter of this year, with sales in January and February reaching 8,900 units and 8,254 units respectively. He also said that the company is working on building more brand awareness abroad in order to expand its exports to at least 10% of its total revenue, from what is currently a “small” percentage.

Separately, Abdul Harith told Bernama that 11,000 units of the Iriz have found homes since its launch in September, with sales expected to pick up as the Raya season approaches.

“Almost 30% of the sales were done in the southern region while the balance came from the Klang Valley and other regions,” he said. “The Iriz is very saleable as it has technological characteristics only available in European cars, but consumers only pay half of what they would pay for a European car.”

Meanwhile, Lotus is said to be on a turnaround propelled by improved sales and after-sales service, cost optimisation as well as a “long-range product plan” designed to deliver a whole range of models up to 2019. Its CEO Jean-Marc Galespreviously said that it has opened up new dealerships in major cities such as Paris, Berlin, Monaco and Abu Dhabi, implemented a customer database, improved the timing of new car launches, shortened build times and cut costs.

“I have to admit that we recorded our lowest [sales] performance last year,” said Abdul Harith. “But that did not deter us from moving forward. Based on our plan, I am optimistic that the road to recovery will materialise by the 2016 financial year.”

“I am positive on the performance of Lotus,” Abdul Harith added. “We are seeing demand grow for the new Evora, which has reached some 400 bookings to date.”

Proton’s performance in the 2013 financial year was poor – it registered a RM821.4 million loss, an increase from the RM606.3 million it lost in 2012, cutting parent company DRB Hicom’s automotive division profit by 57.8% to RM64.28 million. Lotus, however, considerably narrowed its loss from £867 million (RM4.7 billion) in 2013 to £71 million (RM386 million) last year.

After trying to pursue a career in product design, Jonathan Lee decided to make the sideways jump into the world of car journalism instead. He therefore appreciates the aesthetic appeal of a car, but for him, the driving experience is still second to none.

RUGI,PROTONG exceeded my expectations…..in recording RECORD LOSSES OF RM 821 JUTA.
I forcasted only rm 500 juta.
I think secretly they are taking taxpayers money,if not ,tell me,who can continue to bleed non stop for close to a Billion Ringgit?
You can have syiok sendiri therapy,but for how long?
Protong….the only way forward is DOWNSIZING THE DEADWOOD at Shah Alam.Move all the staff to tanjong malim…..and cut your workforce by 30-40 percent.
Stop talking,daydreaming…Mr.MD…..you wont return to Black ink,by continuing your current business model.You may have to go the direction of MAS……mass redundancy exercise.
congrats protong….for declaring your results early and being very transparent.

Wow..bro..care to share which hutan you actually live in cause i could use some peace from the outside world. but just to let u know, although the current updated engine is still not that great…but it’s miles away from the campro used in GEN 2. maybe if your hutan got good internet connection u might be aware earlier but i dont blame u..

Toyota uses even older engines. And the Campro was constantly updated. Other brands also use engines that date back 30 years, 50 years, …

Though yes, Proton needs better engines. And gearboxes. Not sure why they keep insisting on CVT… just source a 6 speed Aisin unit as Peugeot, VW etc. are doing it. Maybe not quite as frugal, but reliable and good enough. And they can say they use Toyota gearboxes, but more modern versions than Toyota itself uses.

Congratulation! Hope you can tell us your user experience 3 year down the road. My experience with Proton in the past is nothing great but Puiii!
Hopefully they have righted the wrong, but I am still a bit doubtful.

Torque-converter CVTs are actually less efficient than multiple-plate wet clutch CVTs. The only reason why torque-converter CVTs make more sense in Malaysian perspective is because of the way Malaysians drive – they tend not to put in neutral while stopping at the traffic light. That’s why the heat from slippage and friction builds up, which may cause CVT overheating.

The old Honda CVT gearboxes had been proven to be reliable overseas but not here in Malaysia, that’s why the new Earth Dreams CVT adopts the torque-converter design. Itis the most efficient tourque-converter CVT due to the thicker CVTF being used.

When a torque converter locks up, it essentially has the same 1:1 power transfer as a clutch plate coupling. The torque converter used by Mazda, for example, can lock up from as low a speed as 8km/h, so it’s operating as if it’s a clutch almost all the time unless you spend almost all of your time stuck in traffic.

At low traffic creep speeds, it provides the refinement of having creep of various levels because of the constantly engaged powertrain unlike in an electronically controlled clutch where frequent disengagements and re-engagements would be required in stop and go situations, which would also cause quite a bit of wearing and tearing. In addition, from a standstill, a torque converter multiplies the torque coming from the engine, which obviously helps with moving off.

It’s not just the CVTs bound for Malaysia that are moving back to having torque converters. Almost all automakers (those who still employ CVTs, at any rate) are going back to torque converters after having tried an e-clutch with their CVTs first in an experimental dash for efficiency. Nowadays, torque converters, with their lock-up function, can be just as efficient as clutches at cruising speeds while providing more refinement, less complexity and some other benefits compared to e-clutches. Heck, Acura (Honda’s luxury arm) was reported to be trying to couple a DCT to an engine using a torque converter instead of directly.
Now, ask yourself why that is the case.

As Abdul Harith mentioned, if Iriz is the so called “European” bench mark for Proton cars, then they should concentrate on providing the same to other models. Bring in new models, the current models are all boring by design and standards. Proton badly needs a Perdana replacement.

come 2016 and if they are still on lose its better to close shop and write off rather than suffer embarrassing publicity.

Proton is taken private company by DRB but still need govt minister to speak on behalf. The minister can talk big but never tell Dewan Rakyat about Proton’s huge losses just because it is no longer owned by govt.

SUVs are there to show off. Why would Proton want to compete in a market where the badge matters so much? What’s the point?

However I also don’t think Proton needs a Perdana replacement. Next thing should be new Saga, followed by an Exora successor. If they want to expand to Europe, create an Iriz and Preve wagon and equip them with engines and gearboxes sourced from a European manufacturer like Renault… (petrol and diesel variants are needed).

The Preve and Suprima are already quite modern… though the Iriz is better. Hopefully a facelift will fix that, raise the quality a bit, maybe redesign the interior…

The Saga will be replaced (this year?) by a new Saga based on the Iriz. The Exora was updated a bit, has better safety now. That car still has a few years of life left.

The Gen-2 and Persona have been superceeded by Preve and Suprima, but no one told them yet. Proton should stop producing them. But right now Proton has got B segment hatchback, C segment hatchback and C segment sedan covered. And soon B segment sedan. For Malaysia that’s quite reasonable, the MPV will have to do for a bit longer, but at least they updated it again and again.

Its still too early to call Proton bashers stupid, publicity talk by Proton is too cheap, they need follow up action on their talk to show the bashers they mean business. Another couple of year down the road, the Proron bashers might have the last laugh.

as long as Proton is run by incompetent arrogant illiterate DRB so called super managers. it will be worse and worse. we all saw what that Dato Lukman and his team of boot lickers did to company. spending millions on their own cronies.

Yes right, its getting more popular now! Maybe it’s really true that at the beginning peoples trying to wait and see first. And now the waiting period is already passed, and then can get comment from iriz’s owner like in the car base review website. Really hard to change peoples perception.. hehe

Looking forward to new Saga. Expecting a larger size, comparable to Honda City with decent spec, safety and improve fit and finish. And hope its not a booted Iriz, change a bit the design so it doesnt look out of proportion.

I recalled Proton has done quite a number of things to stay afloat but the impact was minimal. Maybe Proton should think out of the box and restart the whole thing all over again. It may sound costly to change their manufacturing process and all those activities but maybe that’s better for its future.

I don’t think their CVT is that bad as claimed, just that the software calibration for the box is not refined, or most of us are not very familiar with an automatic gearbox with computer controlled clutch inside them.

I believe the same criticism applied to VW’s DSG and Ford’s Powershift as both are dual clutch gearboxes, while Proton’s Punch CVT (or Protronic as they call it) also has a clutch.

The issue here is familiarity. We all know how a torque converter auto works and feel. They provide instant kick upon acceleration because the torque converter is basically a shaft in the gearbox connecting the gears and the engine’s flywheel, a direct connection.

A dual clutch auto has a clutch in place of the shaft. The clutch is computer controlled, by default they operate in a gentle manner similar to a person who just got their driving license driving a manual car.

Problems with dual clutch or clutched CVT gearboxes are due to the clutches slipping or not engaged properly, same as someone driving a manual but forgot to step the clutch pedal properly.

Jerking, engine stall, cannot reverse, etc. are traits of a clutched gearboxes with improper clutch operation. In manual cars, it’s the driver’s error. For a dual clutch or clutched CVT, it can be the TCU misinterpreting the driver’s throttle input. In perspective, it also became a driver’s error for not allowing the gearbox’s clutch to engage/disengage properly before accelerating/decelerating.

My point is, driving a car with a clutched CVT or a dual clutch gearboxes requires some patience and a good knowledge on how they work inside.

I think most of their sales is from iriz, saga… So they have to get the next saga right, although the curent one is not bad for the price, ofcourse its gonna be an iriz with a boot, best way to cut ur cost, everyone is doing a similar job… City/jazz is da perfect example, perhaps with abit of a face lift to da front end…
I dont think the cvt is a drawback in itself, they jus need to get the right one… They have to force Punch to get sting which is competitive… Since they order so much stock from them, they have the leverage to do that..
The thing abt cvt is, it takes a loooong time to get used to it… Bt once ur on da same wave length, its smooth n predictable n makes an auto box feel laborious… But to be fair, the cvt from punch might be a generation behind, bt its very solid in operation n very reliable… Im using one for 3yrs…havent skipped a hearbeat!

That’s the whole point of the CVT! And that’s what nabill is trying to say. It takes a long time to get used to the CVT. You don’t feel the surge but when you’re looking down on the speedo, you will see that it builds up speed at about the same pace as the rest of the cars around you, even faster even. But the lack sharp thumps give people the illusion that it’s slow even when it isn’t. It’s more cultured, more refined. A CVT is like an easy, cheap way to get a smooth ride.

I’ve tried the 5-speed auto in the previous gen Jazz. I didn’t like it at all because of how unrefined the lower gears are. Gears 1-3 are very tiresome as the power loss when they swapped gears is too jarring for me.

DRB still made rm 64 Juta from auto division inspite of RM 821 juta losses from protong.
In other words Honda and other marques are money spinners.
Why the hell are they hanging on to proton? From 2013 to 2014 ,they lost rm1.5 Billion Ringgit.That is very loyal national service….maybe pittance compared to billions raked in from Double Tracking projects.Continue national service…DRB..if not proton fanboys marah.

News of new Saga and GST prices drop inclusive of protection maintained. Plus more price discounts during festival seasons.
Proton may just reach the final touch line.

But why talk so much of local market, when you have a global car, not even an increase sales volume of export market even mention. Lotus making losses get all the limelight of international market expansion of dealer network instead of Proton. Lastly P2, do you have surprises for before Proton Saga (aka Saga 3) launch and ringgit continue to be weak.

DRB maintaining two losses car brands, is a big challenge for DRB-HICOM finances, I suggest you pick one and drop it.

Of course you haven’t seen any Iriz in your apartment. All Iriz have stability control, so the drivers don’t crash into your apartment. That’s why you only see Myvis, Vioses etc., no stability control, the drivers lose control and crash into your apartment.

I’ve been using Preve for the past 4 years and so far there is no issue occur,not even one problem…instead I’ve feel awesome and confident on the road…it’s equip with a lot safety features,the handling,the grip and the speed is what i like the most…have tried the top speed meter reach 210..let the user judge,not the criticism..

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